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This attitude doesn’t end when these people punch out and leave. Some people are just miserable wretches to be around, whose first pleasure is in finding something to complain about with everything.
I haven’t just seen it with the old. I’ve seen it among the newcomers onto the labor force. These are the new lineup of complainers and whiners to yell, kicking and screaming as you drag them through the day. It wasn’t just inculcated in me as a kid that this is the wrong attitude to have. It’s an attitude that simply doesn’t work. After you stand around shouting that there’s so much work to do and you’ve tired yourself out; your work is still going to be sitting there, waiting for you.
Anyone that’s ever actually tried this knows it’s harder to be lazy at the extremes than it is being productive. Because at some point most of us have tried it. Go ahead. Let your dishes pile up in the sink until everything is overflowing. Don’t wash your clothes so you smell like a walking piece of shit to everyone. You’ll find it much harder to live life that way than staying on top of your own affairs.
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